As this type of the microorganism-collecting unit, there has been so far a unit in which microorganisms are filtered from a liquid specimen probably containing microorganisms by change of a pressure through operation of a pump to trap the microorganisms on a filter, after which the structure is disassembled to recover the filter with the collected microorganisms adhered using a tool capable of minute work, such as tweezers, for measurement of the microorganisms.
Such ordinary microorganism-collecting unit requires a large-sized device such as a pump. Further, in case of a specimen which is directly affected by contaminants or the like, a step of removing contaminants is separately needed. Moreover, it is necessary to recover the filter only for inspecting the microorganisms collected on the filter. Since this procedure requires a tool for performing minute work, such as tweezers, the efficiency is decreased, and a large amount of a sample cannot be treated. Further, an apparatus becomes large-sized because of the use of the pump. Thus, it cannot be used in a position of a narrow working space in a process of food inspection, etc. These require a certain inspection time and a certain technique in microorganism inspection which has to be performed quickly. Accordingly, this unit is problematic in that anybody cannot perform the inspection easily and quickly.
The invention is to solve these ordinary problems, and it is an object of the invention to provide a microorganism-collecting chip aimed at quick and easy operation by using a filter for removing contaminants integrated with a filter for collecting microorganisms.
Another object of the invention is to provide the microorganism-collecting chip wherein a pore diameter of the filter for removing contaminants is set at from 5 to 20 μm to pass microorganisms and remove the contaminants as much as possible, and a pore diameter of the filter for collecting microorganisms is set at from 0.2 to 0.8 μm to surely trap the microorganisms.
The other object of the invention is to provide the microorganism-collecting chip which can cope with a case of a large volume of a liquid specimen by providing a liquid specimen injection container with a filter for removing contaminants located on a bottom.
The other object of the invention is to provide the microorganism-collecting chip wherein a liquid specimen injection container is mounted ahead of the filter for removing contaminants and is adapted to be detachable from a site including the filter for removing contaminants, whereby the liquid specimen injection container can be used repeatedly.
The other object of the invention is to provide the microorganism-collecting chip wherein a lid with a swab for covering an opening of the liquid specimen injection container is added, whereby microorganisms can easily be collected from a position hard to collect the microorganisms, such as a corner or a gap in a test sample.
The other object of the invention is to provide the microorganism-collecting chip wherein the site including the filter for collecting microorganisms is adapted to be solely removable, whereby the filter for collecting microorganisms can be mounted on a microorganism-quantifying apparatus along with the site.
The other object of the invention is to provide the microorganism-collecting chip wherein a dark filter is used as the filter for collecting microorganisms, whereby microorganisms can be quantified accurately by suppressing luminescence of a background.
The other object of the invention is to provide the microorganism-collecting chip wherein a thin film made of a certain component is formed on the filter for collecting microorganisms, whereby microorganisms can be quantified accurately by suppressing luminescence of a background.
The other object of the invention is to provide the microorganism-collecting chip wherein a film thickness of the thin film is set at an appropriate value to make surer the effect given by forming the thin film.
The other object of the invention is to provide a microorganism-collecting kit comprising the foregoing microorganism-collecting chip and a suction filtration unit.
The other object of the invention is to provide the microorganism-collecting kit wherein a negative pressure tube is used as the suction filtration unit which dispenses with the use of a device such as a pump or a special technique.
The other object of the invention is to provide the microorganism-collecting kit wherein a rubber stopper is mounted at an opening of the negative pressure tube, whereby suction can be performed by thrusting a tube through the rubber stopper from outside.
The other object of the invention is to provide the microorganism-collecting kit wherein a rubber stopper whose central portion is made of a thin layer is used, whereby a tube can easily be thrust from outside.
The other object of the invention is to provide the microorganism-collecting kit wherein a hollow needle that reaches the inside of the negative pressure tube is mounted on a lower portion of the filter for collecting microorganisms, whereby the needle penetrates the rubber stopper to easily reach the inside of the negative pressure tube.
The other object of the invention is to provide a method of quantifying microorganisms, which comprises trapping stained microorganisms on a filter for collecting microorganisms using the foregoing microorganism-collecting chip, and detecting both or either of viable cells and dead cells and specific species of microorganisms at the same time.
The other object of the invention is to provide a method of quantifying microorganisms, which comprises trapping microorganisms on a filter for collecting microorganisms using the foregoing microorganism-collecting chip, then staining the microorganisms, and detecting both or either of viable cells and dead cells and specific species of microorganisms at the same time.
The other object of the invention is to provide the method of quantifying microorganisms, wherein India ink is added to a liquid specimen to darken the filter for collecting microorganisms in trapping the microorganisms on the filter, whereby luminescence of a background or contaminants is suppressed to quantify the microorganisms with high accuracy.
The other object of the invention is to provide the method of quantifying microorganisms, wherein India ink is added from above the filter for collecting microorganisms on which the microorganisms are trapped to quantify the microorganisms with high accuracy as mentioned above.
The other object of the invention is to provide the method of quantifying microorganisms, wherein a microorganism-quantifying apparatus is confirmed to be in a normal state using a specimen for confirming a normal state of a microorganism-quantifying apparatus, and the microorganisms are then quantified without inducing inaccurate quantification results based on abnormality of the apparatus.
The other object of the invention is to provide the method of quantifying microorganisms, wherein a base material on which surface polymeric fluorescent grains are fixed is used in the specimen for confirming a normal state of the microorganism-quantifying apparatus, whereby the state of the apparatus can be confirmed accurately and repeatedly.
The other object of the invention is to provide the method of quantifying microorganisms, wherein a base material on which surface stained microorganisms are fixed is used in the specimen for confirming a normal state of the microorganism-quantifying apparatus, whereby the state of the apparatus can be confirmed accurately.
The other object of the invention is to provide a specimen for confirming a normal state of a microorganism-quantifying apparatus, wherein a base material on which surface luminous bodies that emit light with excitation light of a specific wavelength are fixed is used to confirm the state of the apparatus accurately.
The other object of the invention is to provide the specimen for confirming a normal state of a microorganism-quantifying apparatus, wherein the base material is darkened, whereby luminescence of a background is suppressed to confirm the state of the apparatus accurately.
The other object of the invention is to provide the specimen for confirming a normal state of a microorganism-quantifying apparatus, wherein a thin film made of a certain component is formed on the base material having the luminous bodies fixed thereon, whereby luminescence of a background is suppressed to confirm the state of the apparatus accurately.
The other object of the invention is to provide the specimen for confirming a normal state of a microorganism-quantifying apparatus, wherein a film thickness of the thin film is set at an appropriate value to make surer an effect given by forming the thin film.
The other object of the invention is to provide a microorganism-quantifying apparatus for quantifying microorganisms trapped on a filter for collecting microorganisms in a microorganism-collecting chip, wherein it can be confirmed that the apparatus is in a normal state.